Fluid-clutch.



H. H. BENSON'L A. H. ASPHOTH.

FLUID CLUTCH.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY 171914.

mem-ed July 6, 1915.

3` SHEETS-SHEET I.

H. H.BENS 0N & A. H. AsPRooTH. `FLUID CLUTCH. APPLICATION FILED JULY i7. 1 914.

"1,145,464n Patented July 6,1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H. H. BENSON 6J A. H. ASPHOOTH.

FLUID CLUTCH.

APPLlcATloN FILED wn' 1?, |914.'

meme@ my 6, y1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 f @www HARRY H. BENSON AND AXEL HJ'. ASPROOTH, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

FLUID-CLUTCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.y

Patented July 6, 1915.

Application filed July 17, 1914. erial No. 851,531.

This invention relates in general to clutches, and has more particular reference to clutches in which the power is transmitted from the driving to the driven member through the intermediary of a suitable fluid, such as oil, for instance. Clutches .of this general character are commonly known as lluid clutches.

Our present invention designs to provide a clutch of this general character, vwhich will be particularly adapted for use in automobiles, and one of the primary objects of the invention is to provide a clutch which will be accurate and ellicient in its operation, strong and durable in construction, and which is capable of being applied to and carried by the fly-wheel of an ordinary gas engine.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a clutch embodying novel means for varying the relative speed of the driving and driven members and novel means for controlling the operation of said means.

A further object is to provide improved fluid actuated blades, together with improved mountings, and also novel mechanism for operating same.

Still another object is to provide novel blade guides'for guiding the blades and maintaining them in proper position during their operation.

A still further object is to provide a chamber in which the fluid is contained, of novel contour, peculiarly adapted for cooperation with the blades, and the mechanism for actuating same.

A still further object is the provision of a fluid controlling valve,.together with novel and improved means for operatingthe same, and preventing excessive movement thereof beyond the desired limits of travel.

Other objects and' many of the attendant advantages of this in ention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art as the same becomes better understood by referring t0 the following description when considered -in connectionwith the accompanying drawmgs throughout the various views of' which like reference characters refer to similar parts.

Referring to the drawings: Figre 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a clutch embodying our invention, taken on the line l-1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig.

1. Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 1 4 of Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the fluid controlling valve and part of the controlling mechanism therefor, certain parts of the clutch casing Ybeing shown in dotted lines. Fig. 7 is an enlarged transverse sectional View of the clutch. Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the structure and location of the blade guides. Figs. 9, 10, 11 are perspective views of the blades. Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the bearing ring. Fig. 18 is a perspective view of the blades in assembled relation; and Fig. 11 is a perspective View of certain parts of the driven member.

Referring now to the drawing and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, reference character l5 irdicates the driving or main .shaft of a gas engine, upon which the flywheel 16 is mounted by means of bolts 17. The drive-wheel, it should be understood, is shown merely for purposes of illustration, since it will be manifest that the driving member of our improved clutch may be mounted upon any desired rotating drive shaft. The driving member of the clutch, which forms part of the fluid chamber, comprises an annular ring or the side walls of the fluid chamber and equipped with a. radial flange 19, securely fastened to the fly-wheel by bolts 21. The rear or inner wall 22 of the chamber is of disk shape, and has a shouldered joint connection with the outer wall 18. The front wall 23 of the fluid chamber is formed intcgrally with the outer wall 18, and is proshell 18 forming I vided at its center with an opening adapted is of peculiar contourfas will be best Seen i in Fig. 7, one portion of the wall between thepoiiits a and Zi comprising an arc struck from the point c as a center, concentric with theeccentric hub 25 on the wall 23. The remainder of the wall of the fluid chamber comprises an arc struck from the point d as a center, this point being disposed at one side of the axis of' the shalt 2l. The circumferential walls of the fluid chamber are therefore, while generally circular in shape, composed of the intersecting arcs of two circles struck from different centers and having different radii.

lThe driven shaft 2e, which is axially alined with the drive shalt l5, has a hub 27 ixed thereon as shown in Fig` l, said hub being provided at its inner end with an integral radially extending portion 28 provided around its periphery with an annular forwardly projecting iange or wall SP9 disposed concentrically with the shalt and cored at intervals to receive the. cylindrical blade-guides 3l, as shown in Fig. 7. Each blade guide, as will be apparent from Fig. 8, has reduced ends 32, and the guides are split longitudinally, and machined to ren ceive the blades 33, which project transversely through the guides. The rear end of each guide is set into a socket 3e formed in the radial portion 28, as shown in Fig. l, and the guides are maintained in position at their forward ends by a ring 35 mounted on the forward edge of the flange 29, se cured in position by screws 36, and provided with suitable sockets to receive the forward ends of the blade guides. The structure of the blades 33 is best shown in Figs. 9 and 11 inclusive from which it will be apparent that each blade is provided atits base with a plurality of integral rings 37 spaced apart so as lto nest together and form a cylindrical core, as shown in Fig. i3. A bearing ring 38 is adapted to set within the core formed by the blade rings and also to set loosely over the eccentric hub 25, as clearly shown inFigs. l, 3 and 7. Since the blades are held by the guide carrying .flange 29, which is fixed with respect to the driven shaft, against rotation with the driving member, except on rotation of the driven shaft, it will be obvious that rotation of the driving member including the eccpntric hub 25, will successively project andretiact theblades radially of the fluid chamber. As the driving member including the fluid chamber is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 7, the blades will successively Contact with that portion of the wall 18 between the points Z) and a ,to completely di vide or close the fluid chamber during this period of the travel, and will be successively retracted, so that their edges will follow the dotted line shown in Fig. 7, and that at one point they will be wholly wit1l drawn from the fluid chamber into the .ge 29.

maaier I lt should now be apparent that if the iiuid chamber is divided or closed by valve or other suitable mechanism at the point where the blades are withdrawn from the chamber, the fluid in the chamber between the closure and the blade contacting with the wall 18, will be trapped so that relative movement between. the fluid casing and the blade will be prevented, with the result that the inem ber 29 will be driven by the blades, thereby driving the driven shaft 24A.

The closure of the fluid chamber to lock, through the iiterinediary of the iluid in the chamber, the blade with respect to the revolving iluid casing, is effected by means of a valve 39, having end-bearing portions i-l and 4:2, journaled respectively in suitable sockets formed in the disk E22 and the member That portion of the valve projecttransversely across the fluid chamber has a portion of lts body cut away as shi .in in Figs.- 6 and 7, so that when Athe valve in open position, it forms a continuation of the fluid chamber wall, but when in closed position as shown in Fig. 3, it completely closes the space between the wall i8 and the flange 29, thereby preventing flow of the fluid from the one side Vot' the 'valve to the other.

It. will be evidentfrom the foregoing that carried' by the driving member and iii which the valve is mounted will rotate freely, while the driven member carrying the blades will remain stationary. 1When the valve is completely closed, however, the oil in the chamber will be trapped between the valve and a blade so that the blades and '.conse quently the driven member will be immovably locked with respect to the dii member. Should the 4valve be partially open so as to permit the passage of' a small or any desired portion of oil past the valve, the drivenl member will rotated at slower speed than the driving member.

The mechanism for controlling the valve, Y l

rlhe reduced end l2 of the valve is pro- 1 vided throughout a portion of its periph` ery with gear teeth adapted to mesh with corresponding teeth la on a disk 45, mounted concentrically with the driven` shaft Qei upon a sleeve or hub 4G, projecting` laterally 'from .the 'front lace of the member The disk Ll5 is formed to provide a hub or sleeve 4:7, which loosely embraces the sleeve 46, and suitable washers i8 and 49 are employed to maintain the disk in proper position. The front face of the disk is covered by a plate 5l, secured by bolts 5 to the perij'iheral wall 18 of the fluid chamber. This plate also has a hub or sleeve shaped as snown in Fig. l

to overlie the plate 45 and its sleeve 47, thereby holding said disk against displace ment, but permitting rotation thereof.

It will be evident that limited rotation of the disk 45 will impart the necessary rotative movements to the valve 39 to open and close the same. For the purpose of securing this movement of the disk its hub 47 is provided with an inclined slot 55, adapted to receive a pin 56, projecting radially from a longitudinally movable sleeve 57, loosely embracing the driven shaft 24. This I-ln also projects through a longitudinally disposed slot 58 formed in the sleeve 46 directly beneath the inclined slot 55, and the pin is preferably equipped with anti-friction rollers 59, and 61, disposed in the slots 55 and 58 respectively. The sleeve 57 is rotated by the sleeve or hub46 through a 'series of pins 62 projecting inwardly from the sleeve 46, through elongated slots 63 formed-in the sleeve 57. The inner ends of the pins are connected by a collar 64, loosely embracing the shaft 24. The sleeve 57 is normally maintained in the position shown in Fig. 1 by means of a coiled ex pansion spring 65, bearing at one end against the collar64, and at its other end against an internal annular shoulder formed within the sleeve 57. Vhen the parts are 'in the normal position shown in Figs. l and 3, the valve 39 is completely closed, and the driven member is locked to the driving member to rotate therewith at the same speed.

For the purpose of moving the sleeve 57 .outwardly against the force of the spring 65, we have threaded to its outer end a collar66, which is surrounded by sleeve 67 having laterally projecting studs 68, connected with the lower ends of arms 69 fixed to and projecting downwardly from a shaft 71, which may be oscillated by any manually operated mechanism (not shown). A ball race 72 abuts against the radial flange 73 formed on the collar 66, and a companion ball race 74 abuts against a shoulder 75 formed on the sleeve 67. Suitable balls 76 disposed between the races, provide an antifriction thrust bearing which takes up the end thrust of the sleeves and collar. ln order to provide a rigid and dustproof construction, a gasket 77 is preferably interposed betwcen the shoulder 75 and a radial flange of the sleeve 57, and the space between the outer ends of the sleeve 66 and the sleeve 67 is closed by a screw cap 78 equipped* with a suitable gasket 79.

It will be manifest that the valve 39 isA designed to move from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 7 through an arc-not greater than 90 degrees, and for the purpose of limiting the movements of the valve to this amount, the extremity of the reduced bearing portion 42 is cut away as indicated in Fig. 5, and 'the plate 51-is shaped t0 provide a straight-line shoulder 81 against which the normally disposed faces of the valve 39 will abut when the valve reaches the limits of its opening and closing movements.

l`VVhen thev clutch is 'assembled the fluid chamber 26' and the chamber 82, within the guide-ring 29, are filled with oil or other fluid of suitable consistency. vThe oil is introduced through a channel 83 (Fig. l), which is normally closed by plug 84, and an air vent 85, normally closed by a plug 86, permits the escape of air during the filling operations. It will be understood, of course, that while the oil is being introduced the clutch will be positioned with the plugs 84 and 86 uppermost. The blades 33 fit rathenloosely in the guides 31, so thatv the fluid may flow back and forth between the chambers 26 and 82, and in order that the fluid in the chamber 82 may not be trapped between the'blades so as to unduly restrict or retard the running of the device, We

prefer to provide each of the blades 33 with an opening 87, adjacent its base, through which the fluid may readily flow as the blades are revolved. Assuming now that the parts are in the normal position shown in Figs. l and 3, and that the driving member including the casing 18 and the eccentric hub 25 are revolving, it will be understood that a part of the fluid in the chamber 26 will be trapped between the.

valve 39 and that particular blade which is at the time contacting with the concentrically curved portion a-b of the casing wall 18, with the result that the drivenmember will be locked, through the intermediary of the oil in the chamber, to the driving member. Should it be desirable to reduce the speed of the driven member relatively tothe constant speed of the driving member, the shaft 7l is rocked, to swing the arms 69 to the left, viewing Fig. l, thereby drawing the sleeve 57 outwardly, andv driving and driven members may. be secured.

In one eXtreme position of the valve the driving member will rotate freely, while the driven member will remain stationary, and in the other extr'eme the two members will be locked substantially rigidly together.

It is believed that our invention and its mode of operation will be clearly understood :from the foregoing 'Without further description, and it will be obvious that the invention is not,restr1cted. to the particular' construction shown and described, but is.

wall carried by the driving shaft, surrounding lout spaced from said blade-guiding ring, and a plurality of blades projecting; radially through. said duiding` ring, and having rings embracing1 said eccentric hub.

in a fluid clutch the combination of a driving;` member having; an eccentric hub, and a non-circular wall forming the outer wall of a fluid chamber, a driven member havin?,` a concentric hub disposed within the eccentric hub of said driving' member', and a concentric wall forming; the inner Wall of said fl'uid chamber, a` plurality of blade guides, each in the form of a split cylinder carried by said last mentioned Wall, blades embracing said eccentric hub and projectn ing through said blade guideaand means 5 whereby said fluid chamber may be divided at will.. l

3. ln a fluid clutch the combination of a driving' member forming the circumferential walls of a fluid chamber, a driven member forming the inner walls of said chamber, a valve carried by the driving member and adapted to divide said chamber, a' sleeve. fixed with respect to said driving' member, and eXtending around the shaft of said driven member, pins projecting,` inwardly radially from said sleeve, a collar loosely embracing' said shaft and connectinn' the inner ends of said pins, a second sleeve disposed within said. fixed sleeve and ha ving' slots engaging' said pins to permit longitudinal'movement of said second sleeve, an expansion spring' interposed between said collar and said second sleeve, a pin carried by said second sleeve and projecting through and outwardly beyond a slot in said fixed sleeve, a disk meshing; with. said valve and having a hub surrounding said fixed sleeve and provided with an inclined slot engaging' pin, and means formovinar said second mentioned sleeve longitudinally to vary the position of said valve through the intermediary of said disk.

4. In a fluid clutch the combination of a driving' member' forming' the circumferential walls of a fluid :hamber, and having a centrally disposed eccentric hub, a driven member spaced within the outer walls of the fluid channber forming the inner walls of a continuous 'fluid chamber surrounding the said ldriven member, a plurality of blades loosely embracing said eccentric hub and projecting through said inner walls into said fluid chamber and adapted to be eX- tended by said eccentric hub to engage one side of the outer Wall of the fluid chamber, means for varying the size of said liuid chamber at the other side thereof, and 1nechanism for controlling said means.

5. A fluid clutch comprising a blade provided at its base with a plurality of integral rings.

(i. A fluid clutch comprising,- a driven member having' a concentric driven shaft, a driving member' having an eccentric hub surrounding said driven shaft, afsleeve surroundingl said hub, a plurality of blades having ringsembraeing said sleeve, a guide ringA carried by the. driven member through which said blades project, and a circumferential wall surrounding said ring` and spaced therefrom.

7. Vln a fluid clutch the combination of a circular member having paallel sockets adapted to receive vcylindrical blade-guides,

the deeper end of each socket being reduced in size to form a bearing portion, a bladeguide disposed in each socket and having a blade receiving opening, a blade projecting through' each of' said guides, and a ring secured to said circular member and provided with sockets to receive the reduced outer ends of said blade guides whereby the blade guides are supported by their reduced bearing' ends.

8. ln a fluid clutch, the combination of a driving' member forming the circumferential walls of a fluid chamber, a driven member forming' ille inner walls of said chamber, a valve carried by the 'driving member and adapted to divide said chamber, a sleeve fixed with respect to said driving member and extending,- around the shaft of said driven member, a second sleeve extending around the driven member and being conn nected to the first mentioned sleeve so as to move rotatably therewith, but to be movconnected thereto inclosing; a fluid chamber;`

a hub disposed within the fluid chamber eccentric with respect to said casing-connect.- ed shaft and being,1 fixedly connected lwith psi said shaft, the other shaft having a ring member (':oncentric the 'ith and xedly connected thereto and bong disposed .vithin said fluid chamber surrounding the said hub whereby to form the inn -r wall to said fluid chamber, a plurality of blades extending radially through the ring member, the blades being adapted to engage at their outer ends a. portion of the outer Wall of. the fluid chamber and to be moved into and out of said engagement by said eccentric hub, and a valve for closing the fluid chamber at the portion thereof where the blades are out of engagement with the said outer wall of the fluid chamber.

10. In a fluid clutch, the combination of axially alined driving and driven shafts, one of' said shafts having fixedly connected thereto a casing forming the outer Wall of a fluid chamber and having a hub disposed Within the casing eccentric with respect to the shaft, the other shaft having fixedly connected thereto and concentric therewith, a ring member disposed intermediate said hub and outer Wall and forming the inner Afall to said fluid chamber, a` plurality of blades etending' radially through said ring member, the bla-:les being movable into engagement ivith the outer Wall of the fluid chamber by said eccentric hub and being adapted to engage only a portion of said outer wall, and valve means for closing` a, portion of the fluid chamber in which the blades do not engag.A the outer wall.

ll. ln a fluid clutch, the combination of axially alined driving and driven shafts, one of said shafts having fixedly connected thereto a casing forming the outer wall of a fluid chamber extending around the shaft and having a hub disposed within said chamber eccentric to the shaft, the other shaft having a ring member fiXedly connected thereto and disposed within said fluid chamber surrounding said hub and being concentric with its shaft and forming the inner wall to the fluid chamber, a plurality of' blades projecting radially through said ring member and having rings embracingr said eccentric hub, said Huid chamber extending entirely around said ring member and said blades being movable by@ said eccentric hub into engagement With only a portion of the outer wall, and a valve for dividing said chamber at the portion thereof where the blades are out of engagement with the outer Wall.

HARRY H. innison.v AXEL HJ. AsrRoori-i.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL N. POND, D. E. ATKINSON. 

